amsterdam

The first research gathering at FoAM, with Alkan Chipperfield, our resident anthropologist reporting on his fieldwork.

Notes: http://libarynth.org/resgat200603

Research gathering on fuzzy logic, ethnography, aesthetics, food experimentation, distribution and consumption.

Notes: http://libarynth.org/resgat200604

Research gathering on the biology of plants, the Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary, material libraries and subtle technologies.

http://libarynth.org/resgat200606

Disco Kids, a playful afternoon for children and their parents, with music, movies and endless bouncing on the blob.

In collaboration with Lowdjo.
http://www.recyclart.be/content/view/13596/10/lang,nl/

Hands-on Change. An evening of discussions and presentations by Suprabha Seshan, Maja Kuzmanovic, Maria Blaisse and Cocky Eek. Hosted by Shibumi Friends International.

Deep in the forest beside a muddy little path stands a colorful sign which says 'Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary'.

During this research gathering, we have heard reports from the remote outposts of complex systems science and the art of making things, brought to us by Dr Kirsty Kitto and Cocky Eek. Our research lunch will feature a series of complex dishes composed of one sole ingredient.

FoAM is a transdisciplinary laboratory and a research group committed to developing a holistic culture, by actively propagating resilient cultural forms. FoAM's members include artists, gardeners, cooks, technologists, designers, writers and scientists from all walks of life.

How do you relate to global crises in a way that is not demotivating? The discussion about our future is dominated by appeals for austerity and reduction. This is not a very inspiring message as it focuses on negative aspects of society. It is hard to see a positive revolution on a global scale, based on negative arguments. Instead we should focus on positive changes that inspire everyone. This debate should be dominated by the possibility of increasing the quality of life.

When confronted with contemporary environmental questions, one thing became very clear to me: out of fear, or guilt, we can’t create anything. Therefore, as a topic of my research residency, I chose the quality of lightness. Italo Calvino underlines this quality as one of his ‘Six Memos for the Next Millennium’, where he describes a scene from Cernavantes’ novel, in which Don Quixote drives his lance through the sail of a windmill and is hoisted up into the air. I wonder whether we could begin to construct our worlds from this lightness.

From the pneumatic turmoil of the tension workshop a shiny airtight meeting room suited for anyone from ordinary folks to inflated executives, is part of a show at Looking Glass. The silvery plastic film houses the bodies and heads of three people at a time for an intimate meeting in the shared chamber. This triangular starfish evolved out of the experiments of Linda Karlsson. Her inflated costumes started to swallow-up more and more people, duos and eventually trios.

28 June - 04 July 2004 : Tension workshop

14 artists and technologists from Belgium, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Sweden and Canada

The participants spent a week in the FoAM lab in Brussels working on prototypes, models and full scale structures that use the force of tension to sustain their shape and structural integrity, such as inflatables, nets and tensegrity structures.

P~lot or the Play Lab on Open Grown Territories brought together a motley crew of artists, designers, students, theorists and enthusiasts in the tiny Istrian village of Groznjan. P~lot was a workshop designed to examine the 'play' and 'games' as tools for mixing physical and digital realities.

Installation at the Balen festival Enschede, The Netherlands. 21-25 May 2008.

http://roombeek.nl/balenfestival/expositie/kunstenaarsinitiatieven.html

The Guild for Reality Integrators and Generators (gRig)

gRig is a guild for European cultural and academic operators gathered around a mutual purpose; to mix separate realities, as well as bring whole new realities into existence.